My Lady Always Lacks Ambition-Chapter 1084 - 1054: Whoever Drinks Jade Mist Is Doomed
The charity auction was a great success, and the Ministry of Revenue gained significant fame. The millions of silver in donations brought smiles to the Saint’s face, even stirring thoughts.
With silver in the national treasury, could the Longevity Palace continue construction? This idea frightened the Minister of Revenue to the point of pulling out a beard.
Fortunately, the State Preceptor timely came for an audience, saying he watched the stars at night and glimpsed the Heavenly Secret that the Saint’s fate was troubled by Saturn this year, thus construction on the Longevity Palace should not proceed, lest the God of filth approach and harm the Dragon Body.
The State Preceptor, looking frail and having lost half his vital energy, scared the Saint, who also felt weak upon rising and sneezed. Was his ailment due to the notion of construction?
With the Preceptor’s words, the Saint immediately dismissed the idea of construction and instead turned to the Preceptor to discuss Alchemy. However, as the Preceptor needed to close himself off for a while due to using great magic, the Saint had no choice but to meditate and nurture his health by himself.
Minister Qian’s mood was akin to riding a rollercoaster, feeling relieved that the donations were not snatched away, thereby quickly arranging for colleagues in the Ministry of Revenue to distribute funds for disaster relief, lest the Saint comes up with another plan.
Privately, he stealthily said to Lin Xiang, the State Preceptor might not be as bad as imagined; in critical moments, he could help guard the money bag.
Lin Xiang chuckled, thinking the former State Preceptor was indeed bad; the current Preceptor is merely a puppet being manipulated, though there was no need to share this insight.
Following these events, Lin Xiang realized Qin Liuxi indeed played an excellent move. If the Preceptor vanished, and the Saint became obsessed with Changsheng and Alchemy, he would surely seek another master. Who knows what kind of devil or demon might come then?
She was watching multiple moves ahead, no wonder she set up such a grand chess game secretly.
It was time for him to recruit some allies onto this pirate ship!
Lin Xiang looked at Mr. Qian with a smile, "I am hosting a banquet at my mansion on the fifth day; I have some fine tea. Would the Minister of Revenue come to taste it?"
Mr. Qian was slightly flattered, saying, "With the Prime Minister’s invitation, I will certainly attend."
He looked up to see Lin Xiang’s increasingly bright smile and felt a mysterious tension on his scalp, wondering if this was some sort of ominous feast?
Meanwhile, the hidden illustrious Qin Liuxi and Feng Xiu accompanied Li Xuefu to his territory in Chang City.
They did not take the Yin Road but used the Spell of Shrinking Land into Inches, spending little time on the road, arriving in Chang City’s Li Family the next day.
Li Xuefu felt a bit dazed upon seeing the manor gate; how was it so fast?
But he was more frightened of Qin Liuxi and more respectful, constantly bowing with a smiling face, fearing she would be displeased.
Qin Liuxi said, "No need to humble yourself so, you truly acted with goodness; the merit upon you is real, with people benefiting because of you, which earns you merit."
Li Xuefu bitterly smiled, "But despite doing so much, we still suffer misfortune, on a downward path."
"Some say Heaven is unjust, but it is fair actually. Your Li Family takes much yet gives little, which is deserved. As merchants, if they are wealthy but unrighteous, the fate will not be favorable. Though business earning is a personal talent, only taking without giving, knowing only to extract without benevolence, another balance will inevitably be sought." Qin Liuxi said, "In truth, you should be grateful. If not for Li Family’s insistence on charity, you wouldn’t have lasted to meet me, to hear my guidance."
Li Xuefu’s mouth grew bitter.
"Your Li Family’s ancestors must’ve done something, hence the backlash, but the merits of charity helped dissolve some; yet, what must come will come, merely a matter of time. Without merit, the Li Family would have ceased to exist long ago."
Li Xuefu swayed, his face white.
Feng Xiu then said, "That Jade Mist Tea, brew a cup."
Li Xuefu hurriedly had the steward prepare it, though a tribute, the tea came from the Li Family, they definitely kept some reserves for contingencies, like now.
The steward personally brewed some cups of Jade Mist, the fragrance reached them before the tea arrived, slightly sweet, but on closer sniffing, the aroma was rich and captivating. When the tea came, in the Luminous tea cup, the tender green tea leaves scattered like petals, standing upright in the water like a jade figure, the broth color was bright and clear, the aroma delightful, invigorating one’s spirit.
"The so-called lover, by the water, seems this tea leaf may be likened; how is the tea processed?" Qin Liuxi glanced without drinking. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺
Li Xuefu hesitated but then honestly replied, "Tea is picked each year by thirteen- or fourteen-year-old maidens who bathe and fast before picking, pinching only the tender tips, then sun-drying, roasting, rolling into tea strips; this is done with pure women... After all procedures, the last step is adding fragrance, airing the tea leaves near the kang bed, letting the maiden share bedclothes; after one night, the aroma overpowers, then sealed in a Jade jar."
Feng Xiu disdainfully put it down, saying, "Letting maidens share the bedclothes with the tea for it to absorb fragrance, sealed? So the tea is rolled next to the maidens, never processed, is that not unhygienic?"
This was too disgusting, presumably to absorb the body fragrance, the tea might even be placed on certain parts, like...
Feng Xiu grew more repulsed the more he thought.
And this was a tribute, too audacious!
Li Xuefu quickly explained, "In the final step, maidens must bathe and fast for three days without a speck of dust permissible."
"No matter how clean you claim, it doesn’t hide that the tea rolled over the maidens, and this is to be drunk." Feng Xiu rolled his eyes, full of disdain, saying, "Initially thought it like divine tea on the heavenly dome, savoring three days after consumption. Now it seems only repulsion, those few Jade Mist Tea Trees dying is deserved."
Qin Liuxi too was repulsed; the tea leaf could be okay, but the last fragrance step was truly hard to agree with.
This was a different kind of human banquet.
"When’s this Jade Mist Tea from?"
Li Xuefu replied, "Not enough from last year for tribute; this is leftovers from the year before, barely one or two ounces left."
Meaning there’s none of Jade Mist from these two years.
Qin Liuxi observed the tea leaves standing upright in the tea water, suddenly squinting.
She tapped the Luminous cup slightly, water rippling, tea leaves swaying, a fine hair-thin black thread unfurled from the tea tip, descending in the water, aroma intensifying and enticing.
"This tea cannot be kept." Qin Liuxi looked at Li Xuefu, "The tea contains resentful energy, drinking it harms the body."
Li Xuefu’s pupils shrank, knocking over the nearby tea cup in shock: "Resentful energy? But, this is a tribute, only for the Imperial Family."
This was from two years ago, no problem reported.
Qin Liuxi raised a brow, "Haha, this tribute, whoever drinks gets unlucky, who took it?"
Whoever is unlucky, surely the Saint is, tributes aren’t meant for anyone else?
Li Xuefu felt a chill down his spine, thinking he invited an executioner to accelerate demise, instead of resolving family issues!
